[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6712 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6712
To require the disclosure to parents of information regarding mental
illness treatment for their children under the age of 26.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 27, 2012
Ms. Richardson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the disclosure to parents of information regarding mental
illness treatment for their children under the age of 26.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Elgin Stafford Mental Illness
Information Disclosure Act of 2012'' or ``Elgin's Law''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Mental illness is the leading cause of disability, as
reflected in lost years of productive life, in North America,
in Europe, and, increasingly, in the world. By 2020, major
depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in
the world for women and children.
(2) Mental illnesses strike individuals in the prime of
their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All
ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially
vulnerable.
(3) Without treatment, the consequences of mental illness
for the individual and society are staggering, including
unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse,
homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide, wasted
lives, and an economic cost of more than $100 billion each year
in the United States.
(4) The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today
are highly effective so that between 70 and 90 percent of
individuals with serious mental illness have significant
reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a
combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and
supports.
(5) Since early identification and treatment is of vital
importance in treating mental illness, especially for children
and young adults, the active, knowledgeable, and sympathetic
involvement of parents and legal guardians is to be encouraged
to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with generally
accepted and established clinical practice.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE TO PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS OF MENTAL ILLNESS
TREATMENT OF CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 26.
(a) In General.--In the case of a covered individual (as defined in
subsection (e)(1)) who is being treated for mental illness by a health
care professional, subject to subsection (b), the health care
professional shall disclose to a parent (if any) of the individual such
information regarding the mental illness and treatment for mental
illness as may be useful for the appropriate involvement of the parent
with respect to the treatment.
(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply in such exceptional
circumstances as the Secretary may provide by regulation where the
involvement of the parent would be counter-productive to the treatment
involved.
(c) Application of HIPAA Privacy Regulations.--For purposes of
applying the HIPAA privacy regulations, the disclosure of information
under this section shall be treated as a permissible disclosure not
requiring the consent of the covered individual involved.
(d) Publication and Notice on Department Websites.--The Secretary
shall post information on the requirements of this section on such
websites of the Department of Health and Human Services as may be
appropriate to inform the public and health care professionals.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual''
means an individual who--
(A) is--
(i) a minor child;
(ii) an uninsured adult under the age of
26; or
(iii) an adult under the age of 26 who is
covered as a dependent under the health
benefits coverage of a parent; and
(B) is being treated for mental illness by a health
care professional.
(2) Health benefits coverage.--The term ``health benefits
coverage'' has the meaning given the term ``minimum essential
coverage'' in section 5000A(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986.
(3) HIPAA privacy regulations.--The term ``HIPAA privacy
regulations'' has the meaning given the term ``HIPAA privacy
regulation'' in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1320d-9(b)(3)).
(4) Mental illness.--The term ``mental illness'' means a
chronic illness such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective
disorder, bipolar disorder, and major clinical depression, and
such term includes other conditions contained in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV published by the
American Psychiatric Association (or any successor publication
by such Association).
(5) Parent.--The term ``parent'' includes a legal guardian.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
(7) Uninsured.--An individual shall be treated as uninsured
if the individual is not covered under any health benefits
coverage.
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